CUET-UG 2026: Results out; one candidate scores 100 percentile in four of five subjectsOne candidate achieved a 100 percentile in four out of five opted subjects in the Common University Entrance Test-Undergraduate (CUET-UG) 2026, with results announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) .A total of 22 candidates scored a 100 percentile in three of their opted subjects, while 180 candidates secured 100 percentile in two subjects, the agency said. As many as 3,214 candidates scored 100 percentile in one subject, it added.Vijay government moves Supreme Court on Thirupparankundram rowThe Tamil Nadu government, headed by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has moved the Supreme Court challenging orders passed by the Madras High Court on the lighting of a lamp at a stone pillar near a dargah on the Thirupparankundram hill. The High Court’s Division Bench had, in early January this year, confirmed a previous Single Judge Bench order directing the Subramaniya Swamy Temple management in Thirupparankundram to light the Karthigai Deepam at the ‘deepathoon’ (stone pillar) atop the hill, besides the usual places.George Kurian resigns as Union Minister, likely to return to Kerala politicsUnion Minister George Kurian has resigned from the Union Council of Ministers following the completion of his Rajya Sabha tenure. President Droupadi Murmu has formally accepted his resignation. Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Mr. Kurian is likely to return to active organisational responsibilities and has conveyed his interest in working in Kerala to the party leadership. A native of Kottayam, Mr. Kurian served as Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in the third Narendra Modi government. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh.Monsoon covers Telangana, advances in MaharashtraThe western part of Hyderabad was hit by an overnight rain, which led to a flood and power failure, thus disrupting the lives of the people. Kethireddypalli near Moinabad recorded 12.9 cm of rainfall, while Chandanagar logged 12.7 cm and Lingampally recorded 11.7 cm of rainfall till 5 a.m. on Tuesday (June 23, 2026), classified as very heavy rainfall by Telangana Development Planning Society. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a heavy rainfall warning in four Telangana districts for Tuesday (June 23, 2026). Rainfall is very likely to occur at isolated places in Jagtial, Rajanna Sircilla, Medak and Kamareddy districts, according to the report.IT Ministry asks CJP’s Dipke to be present for hearing on X account banThe Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has asked Abhijeet Dipke to be physically present for a hearing on the union government’s blocking of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) account on X, formerly Twitter, a CJP source told The Hindu. The summoning comes even as Mr. Dipke has refused to leave Jantar Mantar, where he has been leading a protest calling for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation since Saturday (June 20, 2026) .Iran says UN watchdog will not be allowed to inspect bombed nuclear sitesIran said on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) that inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog would not be given access to its nuclear sites that were bombed during the war with Israel and the United States last year. “We have not had a meeting with the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, nor do we have any plans for the agency to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities damaged by the U.S. and Zionist military aggression,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei at a press conference in Tehran attended by AFP. On Monday, U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance had said Iran would allow U.N. nuclear inspectors to return, calling it “a major milestone... and the first step in permanently denuclearising” Iran.T.N. CM Vijay cites 2021 Assembly centenary event to counter Opposition over National Anthem rowTamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) told the Legislative Assembly that the Tamil Thaai Vazhthu (Invocation of Mother Tamil) was sung in the House after the National Anthem during the centenary celebrations of the Assembly in 2021 and that the National Anthem was rendered twice at the time — both at the beginning and end of the function. Referring to the controversy over the rendition of the National Anthem in the Assembly twice — once at the beginning and again at the end — during Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s address to the House on June 18, Mr. Vijay said it is a long-standing practice in Tamil Nadu for government and school functions to begin with the Tamil Thaai Vazhthu.Supreme Court stays premature release of Bowbazar blast convictThe Supreme Court on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) stayed a Delhi High Court decision to prematurely release a 78-year-old man serving a life sentence for the 1993 Bowbazar blast case that left 69 people dead in Kolkata. A Bench of Justices P.K. Mishra and Sanjeev Sachdeva orally remarked that the actions of Rashid Khan amounted to “almost a terrorist activity” and he had played the “role of a mastermind”. The apex court hearing was based on a special leave petition filed by the West Bengal government, represented by Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, who objected to the apparently “reformative” approach taken by the High Court in a case concerning serious offences which led to multiple deaths of innocent persons.After Lucknow blaze, 14 coaching centres sealed in Jaipur; notices served to over 24The Jaipur administration on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) launched a crackdown on coaching institutes and libraries over fire safety violations, sealing 14 establishments and issuing notices to over two dozen others following a deadly blaze at a coaching centre in Lucknow that claimed 15 lives. Teams of the municipal corporation and police carried out inspections across the city to verify fire safety arrangements, including the availability of firefighting equipment, emergency exits and mandatory fire no objection certificates (NOCs). Chief Fire Officer Devendra Meena said that since June 4, around 600 units in the Heritage area have been issued notices over fire safety compliance, including nearly 150 coaching institutes and libraries.Will launch fast from July 5 if amendments to RTI Rules not revoked: Anna HazareActivist Anna Hazare has threatened to launch an indefinite hunger strike from July 5 if the Maharashtra government does not immediately withdraw the “illegal” amendments made to the Right to Information (RTI) Rules. In a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday (June 23, 2026), Mr. Hazare said the Maharashtra Right to Information Rules, 2026, would “blunt the edge” of the RTI Act and keep people away from information. He claimed the amendments made on June 12 violate the spirit of the RTI Act, 2005, and undermine transparency.Amit Shah directs NAFED, NCCF to bypass middlemen, buy pulses and oilseeds directly from farmersUnion Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) directed National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF) to procure pulses and oilseeds directly from farmers, cutting out middlemen, as India looks to reduce its dependence on imports of the two commodities. Speaking at the launch of four NAFED initiatives, including a digital auctioning platform, Nafex.In Mr Shah said output of pulses and oilseeds had risen in recent years, but self-sufficiency had remained elusive because minimum support prices were not reaching growers.Japanese PM Sanai Takaichi’s Guwahati visit cancelled, meetings will be hosted in DelhiJapanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will not visit Guwahati from July 1-3, as was planned earlier. She will hold her interactions in Delhi because of the “tight” schedule of her visit and other logistical issues, The Hindu has learnt. The Guwahati part of her visit was earlier planned as the centrepiece of the tour, as Japan reportedly wanted to highlight the importance of India’s northeast in Japan’s plans for South and Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific initiative. “Given PM Takaichi’s domestic commitments, including an ongoing session of the Diet (Japanese Parliament), the window between her proposed arrival in India and her departure is quite tight. In view of this and the additional logistical issues connected to a visit outside the capital, the visit is now likely to be held in Delhi,” The Hindu was told by a source familiar with the plans.Pune trekker’s death: Fiancée, her lover pushed him into gorge, say cops; both arrestedIn a big twist in the death of real estate firm director Ketan Vishal Agrawal, police on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) arrested his fiancée and her lover for allegedly pushing him into a deep gorge off Lohagad Fort in Pune and passing it off as an accident, officials said. While the incident, which occurred on June 18, was initially believed to be a case of an accidental fall at the historic Lohagad Fort, the investigation pointed to a murder conspiracy, they said.